NORTE PROGRAMS SPRING 2021 REPORT
elgruponorte.org
ROLLING FORWARD A SPRING SEASON OF SUCCESS
The Spring 2021 Norte season was an exciting step forward in motivating a new generation of healthy, happy, and strong individuals. As the season went on, our organization benefitted from increased COVID-19 vaccine availability. This positive change allowed us to bring our programs to more participants than ever safely. As a result, our Youth Mountain Bike Team continued its growth trend, and Adventure Bike Club taught more kids safe riding skills. Additionally, thanks to renewed support and investment, our Bikes for All program leaped forward during the spring of 2021. We expanded our meetups for kids and adults with special needs by providing in-school meetups at Traverse Heights Elementary and several schools within Northwest Education Services.
OUR PARTICIPANTS Quite literally, Norte couldn't do it without the remarkable riders who bring their smiles and enthusiasm to each meetup and practice. Their desire to adventure and constant willingness to learn fuel our coaches and empower the organization to keep rolling! Thank you to all the participants and their families, whether first-time or manytime, who made this spring season a success. Our programs roll across age and ability groups — new and experienced riders and the Bikes for All program to serve riders with special needs. ADVENTURE BIKE CLUB BIKES FOR ALL 1ST-5TH GRADE MOUNTAIN BIKE TEAM 6TH-12TH GRADE MOUNTAIN BIKE TEAM NORTE VARSITY TEAM
450+ PARTICIPANTS
OUR COACHES Thank you to the fantastic coaches, both lead and volunteer coaches, who stepped up to the plate across the north to share their love of biking with the next generation. We had 59 lead and 82 assistant coaches across our spring programs, for a total of 141 amazing coaches on bikes, sharing knowledge. A big thank-you as well to our wonderful Bikes for All weekly meetup volunteers, who are not included in this tally, but are greatly appreciated for their kindness and dedication. We ask participants and their families to rate their experience with their coach on a scale of 1 to 5. Our spring coaches received an average rating of 4.95, up from the already-spectacular 4.9 of last season!
Let's continue to get #moregirlsonbikes by showing them excellent women coaches + role models. We're continually working to recruit women bikers as rockstar coaches.
29% 71% FEMALE
MALE
COACH GENDER RATIO
NORTE + EQUITY Diversity, equity, and inclusion are central tenets of Norte's 2021-2022 strategic plan, available to read on our website. We firmly believe that bikes are for everyone—across identities, including ability and level of resources. Contributions to the Norte Youth Scholarship Fund made it possible for thirteen mountain bike team students in the spring 2021 program season to have their tuition wholly covered by scholarships. All told, 115 more had their tuition reduced. Additionally, the generous support in the form of grants and donations allows us to add to our program bike fleet consistently. No bike? No problem.
35
SPRING 2021 MOUNTAIN BIKE TEAM + ADVENTURE BIKE CLUB PARTICIPANTS BORROWED PROGRAM BIKES FROM NORTE.
MOUNTAIN BIKE TEAM
LET'S GET MOVING YOUTH MOUNTAIN BIKE TEAM: IN FULL FORCE This season brought the Grand Traverse Regional Youth Mountain Bike Team to five new locations across Northern Michigan (marked in orange in the list below), expanding our reach further to the north and the east. Additionally, we ran programs in Charlevoix and Emmet counties for the first time, meaning we now operate in six counties. We're incredibly grateful for all the positivity and support generated with each new location. Basing mountain bike programs at Kalkaska and Boyne City Schools also made it convenient for students to access after-school programming. Thank you to our partners who made these new locations possible.
WESTWOODS • TIMBER RIDGE • PALMER WOODS • GT COMMONS • WHEELHOUSE • BOYNE CITY • VASA TRAILHEAD • GLACIAL HILLS • KALKASKA • NUBS NOB
EVERYBODY ROLLING
2021 SPRING MOUNTAIN BIKE TEAM DEMOGRAPHICS
371
PARTICIPANTS
34.3%
INCREASE FROM FALL
34% 66% FEMALE
MALE
75
57%
FIRST-TIME PARTICIPANTS
50
4th and 5th grade were tied for the most representation this season, with 62 riders each per grade!
25
This participation continues the trend of an increase in younger riders.
3r d 4t h 5t h 6t h 7t h 8t h 9t h 10 th 11 th
1s t 2n d
0
GRADE LEVEL
And once again, we've seen a substantial increase in the youngest riders of all, first grade.
The enthusiasm of everyone—students, families, and coaches—in our new locations allowed us to nearly double the number of schools our riders represented. As a result, we grew from thirty-five schools to sixty-three between the Fall 2020 and Spring 2021 mountain bike seasons. For more context, last year's spring mountain bike season represented twenty– three schools. We're super proud of Norte's youth mountain bike program's growth and hope to continue this rockin' trend.
size of word cloud representation determined by number of students per school
63 SCHOOLS AND COUNTING
HOW DID WE DO?
2021 SPRING MOUNTAIN BIKE TEAM FEEDBACK In Norte's eighth year of programming (!!), some of our participants are veterans already. True pros. With the unprecedented number of first-time Norte program participants, we want to be more accurate in our reporting by differentiating between first-time and repeat participants in our metrics. So, in addition to our overall numbers (big and on top), you'll see subset numbers — when we asked the question specifically to first-time and repeat participants. Thank you to all families — new friends or old — who filled out the post-survey.
98%
WOULD RECOMMEND THE YOUTH MOUNTAIN BIKE TEAM PROGRAM TO A FRIEND. THIS IS CONSISTENT WITH FALL 2020.
93%
82%
93%
ARE MORE CONFIDENT RIDERS THAN BEFORE
PLAN TO RIDE THEIR BIKES MORE THAN BEFORE
UNDERSTAND THE RULES OF THE ROAD + TRAIL ETIQUETTE BETTER
95% 92%
86% 78%
95% 90%
86%
89%
93%
FIRST TIME
RETURNING
FIRST TIME
RETURNING
FIRST TIME
RETURNING
KNOW MORE PLACES TO RIDE (PARKS, TRAILS, ETC.)
KNOW MORE ABOUT HOW THEIR BIKE OPERATES
FEEL MORE INDEPENDENT THAN BEFORE
91% 80%
97% 78%
95% 92%
FIRST TIME
RETURNING
FIRST TIME
RETURNING
SURVEY RESPONSE RATE: 31%
FIRST TIME
RETURNING
PARENT FEEDBACK "Our kids feel more confident when riding and have a deeper love of the sport. We are thrilled for them to have a passion for it." "We hit the trails as a family for the first time! We're hooked!" "[Our son] loved doing this with his dad, who volunteered with the group. His younger brother wants to try the farm team at Palmer Woods next fall." "Having him feel a part of the Norte community has helped us say as a family, 'we are people who value being outside on our bikes.' It's a helpful identity formation tool for us! Everyone loves a good sense of belonging." "Stronger kids. Our son loved it. We can really see him mountain biking as a passion." "This season was a great confidence builder for the kids. They had mountain biked at Palmer Woods with me (their dad) previously and were comfortable navigating the trail, but they are much more confident now. It really helped their confidence, hearing [affirmation] from someone else (coaches), and seeing that their peers were doing it too." "We loved seeing our son so happy to get to practice each evening." "We are biking more as a family, and [our rider] is going to take us out on her favorite trail. "We have realized that it’s a great family activity and now we all go together! Also, we learned that some of our friends were mountain bikers." "[His dad] enjoyed volunteer coaching, and the 2 of them really looked forward to their father/son bike nights every week!" *responses edited for anonymity
Do these tales of adventure, fun, and camaraderie have you feeling left out? We're looking for awesome adult coaches for the fall 2021 season. (A note: our assistant coaches are considered Norte Super Friend volunteers — eligible for awesome perks, including early program registration in the next season!)
YOUTH MOUNTAIN BIKE TEAM
RIDER FEEDBACK
"[Mountain bike team] got me more active, more consistently." "I’ve started riding more and am getting my dad to go with me sometimes."
"It made my mom want to join!"
"My parents now struggle to keep up with all of us kids and have admitted that Norte made us much faster than they are." "Me and Dad go out [biking now]. Mom is getting a bike so we can ride."
"I'm braver now."
"It made me able to keep pace with my dad more easily. I learned some stuff about my bike, and we did some skills to make us better bikers." "It has helped me learn how to ride better. I can go with my parents and friends on harder trails than before." "I can show my family around all the trails now, and we go for bike rides more often."
"I am a more confident rider now, and I know that for sure."
"Being on the team got me interested in riding my bike again. I am working to build a bike course in the woods at my house!" "It made me more afraid of ticks. It was fun and challenging. I liked my team." "It made me stronger, so I can spend more time with my mom in the woods without whining."
YOUTH MOUNTAIN BIKE TEAM
ADVENTURE BIKE CLUB
STREET SMARTS
ADVENTURE BIKE CLUB ROLLING IN TC & BEYOND Adventure Bike Club (formerly known as the Bike Más Project) is one of Norte's original programs. Based out of area schools, ABC meets kids where they're at in both ability and location. In addition, we host an open session at the Wheelhouse for all schools for ABC participants at schools that currently do not have safe biking infrastructure. Like the Youth Mountain Bike Team, ABC is a Safe Routes to School-supported program. ABC's school-based locations increase accessibility (as guardians do not have to transport riders to and from practice) and help riders get familiar with the streets and trails around their schools. EASTERN ELEMENTARY • OLD MISSION PENINSULA SCHOOL • IMMACULATE CONCEPTION • CHERRY KNOLL • WILLOW HILL • ST. ELIZABETH ANN SETON • PATHFINDER • GRAND TRAVERSE ACADEMY • COURTADE • WOODLAND
EASY AS 1-2-3
2021 SPRING ADVENTURE BIKE CLUB DEMOGRAPHICS
43
PARTICIPANTS
153%
INCREASE FROM FALL
This increase is a definite "wow" moment. Thanks to all returning families, including those who brought friends — and thanks to brand-new members of the Norte crew.
65% 35% FEMALE
MALE
25
4th graders led the way, with 23 members of the ABC crew.
20
Additionally, our girls on bikes are crushing it this season — as 65% of ABC participants.
15
So let's keep rolling into the future, where everybody knows that biking is for everyone.
10
5
0
4th
5th
GRADE LEVEL
6th
79%
FIRST-TIME NORTE PARTICIPANTS
HOW DID WE DO?
2021 SPRING ADVENTURE BIKE CLUB FEEDBACK Adventure Bike Club post-surveys distinguish between responses from returning participants and first-time Norte participants. However, due to our awesomely overwhelming number of new participants, we did not have enough returning students to analyze. Therefore, unlike mountain bike team surveys, ABC surveys will be reflective of all participants. Thank you to all of the families who filled out the post-program survey for ABC. It helps us to improve and build support for our programs.
100% WOULD RECOMMEND ADVENTURE BIKE CLUB TO A FRIEND.
86% 100% 100%
ARE MORE CONFIDENT RIDERS THAN BEFORE
PLAN TO RIDE THEIR BIKES MORE THAN BEFORE
100% 86%
KNOW MORE PLACES TO RIDE (PARKS, TRAILS, ETC.)
KNOW MORE ABOUT HOW THEIR BIKE OPERATES
UNDERSTAND THE RULES OF THE ROAD + TRAIL ETIQUETTE BETTER
86%
FEEL MORE INDEPENDENT THAN BEFORE
SURVEY RESPONSE RATE: 34.8%
RIDER FEEDBACK
"I loved it! My favorite part was seeing a porcupine on the bike trail. It was fun after school to ride in town." "I want to volunteer with Norte in high school and college."
"It has made us ride our bikes more!"
"It helps me to ride with my family!"
"I'm more excited to ride. I feel safer." "My brother is a BMX racer, so I’m around biking a lot. This gave me my own confidence to ride in a different way than him. I am proud that I did long rides, and now I feel like I can go on longer family bike rides." "I loved riding in town. I'm more confident now."
ADVENTURE BIKE CLUB
BIKES FOR ALL
ALL IN FOR BIKES FOR ALL BIKES FOR ALL — MEETUPS + IN-SCHOOL PROGRAMS Bikes for All is Norte's bike program for kids and adults with special needs. We hold 100% free weekly meetups that are open to the public and meetups for specific school organizations. Our meetups with organizations take place either at the Civic Center or at their home base. Norte board member Sue Paul (mom to participant Annie, pictured below) encouraged us to expand our meetup age group to include adults with disabilities who often age out of other social programs. As a result, we now hold weekly meetups for people younger than 26 and older. These meetups are in addition to our ongoing rides for the deaf community.
TRAVERSE HEIGHTS ELEMENTARY • OAK PARK SCHOOL • NEW CAMPUS SCHOOL • LIFE SKILL CENTER
NORTE'S FLEET ALL ABILITIES = ALL KINDS OF BIKES
As we firmly believe everyone should have access to the joy of riding a bike, we offer adaptive bikes to serve both pedaling and non-pedaling abilities. A generous 24-hour support campaign allowed us to purchase the Duet bike, seen in the picture above, from the Grand Traverse Pavilions. We're continually looking to grow our inventory of bikes that can be used by our Bikes for All participants. If you have a bike that would fit our needs, or if you want to give your support of our purchases, please visit our website.
FEEDBACK
2021 BIKES FOR ALL SPRING SEASON "There are not enough words to express our gratitude to Norte and Coach Lauren! It is sometimes a challenge to find community partners who understand our unique student needs and commit to helping them develop new skills!" "After the first ride, we saw more cohesiveness between the students and an increase in confidence on the bikes and in the classroom. We are hopeful that we can partner with Norte again in the future." "Each week, we built on our skills and went further distances. Norte Meetups have been very encouraging to our students."
OUR ROCKSTAR SUPPORTERS — THANK YOU
HAPPY. HEALTHY. STRONG. Visit us at our two Grand Traverse County Civic Center houses: the Clubhouse and Wheelhouse. CH: 231.883.2404 | WH: 231.883.2471 hello@elgruponorte.org elgruponorte.org